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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Music Brought My Children Back to Me

When a parent has a child with a disability, communication is a wall
that is often difficult to overcome. For over 15 years, Karen Kowalski,
an instructor at Rutgers University's Occupational Therapy Assistant
Program and a classical pianist, has been teaching children with a
variety of disabilities — autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome — to
play the piano.And she saw something
miraculous: Her students began to improve their verbal and motor skills
and progress in other areas of their lives. Suddenly, they could connect
with the world in ways they hadn't been able to before.I had a chance to interview her to learn more.

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When did you first notice the power
of music?

I have been involved in music since I began taking piano lessons at age four so
I have always been intimately involved in understanding the positive effects of
listening as well as creating music but that pertained more to the typical
population of individuals.

I first began to notice the positive effect of music on
physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual domains when I was in school
studying to become an occupational therapist.
I received a phone call at Somerville School of Music, where I was and
continue to teach piano, asking if I would be able to teach piano to a teenager
with attention deficit disorder, developmental delays and tourette’s
syndrome. This girl and her family were
told by the high school music teacher that taking piano lessons would be a
“waste of time and money since she will never be able to learn music.” Through
my experience teaching this girl for ten years, I learned about how music can
provide an outlet for limitations in communication, reduced ability to socialize
with peers and reduction in engagement within leisure time activities. I
learned that people of all levels and abilities might have strong intrinsic
motivation to study and perform music.
The most important quality that an individual requires is that intrinsic
level of motivation which can lead the person to overcome obstacles in
communication, socialization as well as physical abilities.

The story of the Brown siblings is
amazing - have you noticed success with other children with disabilities?Absolutely! The most important component for any
individual (typical or atypically developing) to succeed within creative arts in
my observation is intrinsic motivation to excel in that area. Individuals are
usually able to adapt to physical, intellectual, social or emotional
circumstances that they may have either by themselves or with the support of
friends, family or instructors if they have this intrinsic motivation.
Conversely, I have found that typically developing piano students for example
who are encouraged to study music by their family members but do not have
intrinsic motivation to learn and excel do not demonstrate satisfying effects
of music as those with typical OR atypical development who DO have this want
and desire to study music.

Considering that information, I have certainly had success with many other
individuals (children and adults) who have had the following conditions: Down
Syndrome, cerebral palsy, attention deficit disorder, muscular dystrophy,
unilateral amputation. It is important to note that the word “success” is
relative to the goals of the actual individual.
Justin and Serena’s success is a success in the typical manner as Justin
is now studying piano performance at Westminster Choir College and performing
on a regular basis. Serena continues to
excel in piano performance at school and within the community. There are some students who will not excel in
these traditional areas, however, may be able to feel successful by playing
piano at home to entertain family, friends and self but may need more
adaptation of music. For example, I have
an adult student who has Down Syndrome who is only able to read a few notes on
the musical staff so I need to write in the notes for this student. This
student will probably not be able to read music as efficiently as Justin and
Serena, however is able to play music as a form of personal leisure time
activity and thoroughly enjoys engaging in musical activities within lessons
and in the community. Within the community, she and I have played duets for
church reflections. These pieces of
music are very basic, but still a powerful method for this student to develop
self-esteem.

How can parents harness the potential positive effects of music?Parents, family and friends are very important in order to support the
student in whatever creative arts expression that he/she would like to
pursue. Again, this is true for typical
and atypically developing individuals. I
can remember when I was early in my musical study period as a child, my parents
and grandmother would sit and actively listen to me play piano. They also
requested that I play for visitors for dinner parties and other social events
they may have at our house.

The Brown family is a model example of this.
They surround Justin and Serena with continual emotional support through
active listening to their music and feedback (even though both are not
musicians themselves) and also through physical support by coordinating the
connection between their music and the community for example, playing at their
local church or encouraging the younger child to let the music teacher at
school know about their musical studies and possibly play for the music class
or other events within the school. Not only have the student practice music but
immerse them in music by listening to music within the home and also providing
opportunities to observe music performance within the community.